Lost Friend
by CrystalStarlight95
Summary: After an accident, Bolin and his teammates try to look for one more friend who seemed to have disappeared. ONESHOT!


**_So this was something I wrote on a whim. Because I felt like being horrible._**

**_Last I checked, nobody has really wrote something like this. And I know it sucks, SO SORRY!_**

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They all three rolled against the ground, debri and rocks flying with them as they shielded their heads to protect themselves. Korra raised her head and through the smoke and sparks the Chi-blockers were running away, leaving them in the destruction they left behind.

She was rubbing her throbbing temple when Bolin next to her sat up quickly, stretching his arms above his head, "Whoot! We scared those guys off!"

"And almost lost our lives in the process." Mako said quietly, sitting up as well, tugging his scarf to make sure it was still there.

"Yeah, but still!" Bolin grinned at his teammates. Of course the Earthbender had been scared to death too, but after all this, he was just trying to lighten the mood as best as he could, "Hey, Pabu, wasn't that fun?"

Korra and Mako turned their heads as Bolin began looking on his own shoulder and then all over the ground, standing up quickly, "Pabu? Where are ya, buddy?"

Mako stood up, brushing dust off of himself, "He probably ran for cover, Bolin."

"Yeah, but he was on my shoulder the entire time!" Bolin protested, running forward through the clearing smoke, "Pabu? Pabu!"

Korra got up onto her feet, twisting her body a bit to stretch, "C'mon, Mako, we're out of danger, we might as well look for him."

Mako sighed irritably, rolling his eyes, "Fine."

They spent the next few minutes wandering the debri and ruin of the building they had gone to visit when they heard Equalists were probably stealing supplies from there. Korra was anxious to get any kind of information from it all, and she had to drag the brothers along with her, despite how dangerous it could've been. For all they know of, it could've been a setup or something, for when they got too close suddenly Chi-blockers were everywhere and the entire building had exploded, right next to them. Sure they got out alive, but like Bolin said, Pabu was missing.

The little fire ferret was sure to be fine, right? Korra mused to herself as she walked around briskly. He could've done what Mako suggested, hop off of Bolin's shoulder in order to run under any kind of shelter from the rocks and wood that was obviously flying about. Pabu was a very smart creature, he must be fine.

She suddenly paused. Did she just see something of red and orange? There, by the rocks, was Pabu's tail. Korra gave out a breath of relief, smiling as she ran over and dropped to her knees.

"So thats where you've been hiding!" She moved the rocks out of the way, chattering, "Bolin has been very worried about you, but wait 'till he sees me strutting back with you on my..."

Her voice died in her throat. Her blue eyes widened. Her hand had dropped the rock she had lifted up.

Pabu lay between all the rocks and the debris, silent and unmoving. His body was coated with dust, and he was curled in slightly. It took several bone-chilling seconds for it to click inside the young Avatar's mind that the explosion had sent rocks or...something that ended up probably crushing the poor fire ferret internally. It could've been so instant...or maybe it was slow.

"Korra!" Mako called out to her, running up from behind, "Is that..." A tiny strangled sound from his own mouth cut him off.

She knew he had seen what she was seeing right now. Mako slowly walked over to her side, staring down with wide eyes.

"Oh spirits..." He murmured, "Oh Pabu..."

Korra felt her eyes well up with tears, but she froze up when they both heard, "Hey guys! Did you find him?"

Mako whipped around and Korra looked over her shoulder. How were they going to tell him? How was he going to see this? Bolin's face was flustered a bit, his eyes shining and he was smiling happily, as if he was just playing a simple game of hide and seek. He looked so naive, so innocent, and Korra knew...this was going to break him.

"Bo..." Mako had run over to him, grabbing his shoulders, "Don't..."

"What's the problem?" Bolin asked, looking over, "Is that him? Hey Pabu, c'mere buddy!" He then looked confused as Mako kept a firm grip on him, preventing the Earthbender from moving forward.

"No, Bolin." Mako was whispering, "Please don't look..."

"What're you talking about?" Bolin started slowly, eyes suddenly filling up with worry, "Why...what...whats happened to Pabu?"

Korra held her breath, reaching forward to gently pick up the little red ferret in her hands, cradleing him in her arms as she stared at him, feeling numb. Then she turned around to the brothers, walking over to them. Mako had a pained look on his face, and he slowly released Bolin, who widened his eyes. He still didn't understand.

"Pabu...!" He said, "Goodness, I was worried about you...!" He laughed a bit but it died away as he stared at the limp form in Korra's arms, "Is...is he asleep?"

Korra slowly shook her head, her throat swelling up as she couldn't get any words out. Bolin took a step forward, reaching to gently touch Pabu's head.

"Hey...Pabu..." He whispered, his voice started to shake, "Pabu, buddy, come on, wake up...its me, Bolin."

Mako had brought a hand over to his shoulder, "I'm...I'm sorry, Bo..he's gone..."

Bolin shook his head, again and again as the tears already started coming, and Korra found herself unable to hold in tears of her own, "N-No, stop lying to me, he looks fine." He was suddenly taking the little creature away from Korra, holding him closely against his broad chest, "Hey...Pabu...c'mon, wake up..."

His voice choked up as he tried with all his might to keep talking, the tears ran like a stream down his cheeks, "C'mon, buddy...I was gonna give you a bath later on...we were gonna play a prank on Mako...Pabu..."

Mako stood back, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head away, trying so hard to keep from letting go like Korra and his brother already did. He opened his eyes then and moved forward, gently resting a hand on the back of Bolin's head and pulling him close enough to wrap his other arm around him.

The noises Bolin was making grew louder, he sobbed against Mako's shoulder so hard, and Korra tried to wipe her eyes, but the sight was just too much. She saw the fire ferret nestled in between the two brothers, looking peaceful and quiet. The Avatar silently came up to the brothers and rested a hand gently on Bolin's back. Mako looked up at her, his amber eyes shining.

Bolin had quieted down, and he pulled away, the tears still on his face but staring down at his friend, leaning in to give his little furry head a kiss.

They buried Pabu on Air Temple Island, very close to the little garden Pema had been working on. The three Airbending children had understood what had happened, and they were all silent, even Meelo. They all stood around the grave while Bolin held a tiny little bouquet of flowers in his hands. Mako and Korra stood on each side of him as he sniffed, kneeling down to rest the flowers on the little grave.

He stood up straight, wiping his eyes and giving a deep breath, "Pabu...Pabu was my best friend...he was my buddy through thick and thin and I...spirits, I'm gonna miss him..." The tears were large and wouldn't stop as he turned away from the grave.

Its hard, losing someone you love. When you grow up with almost nothing, you need someone to be there for you. And true, Bolin did always have his older brother, but there were just times when Bolin felt lonely. When he found that little fire ferret in the alleyways, all by himself and hungry, Bolin swore to take care of him and protect him just like Mako had done and was doing right now.

Bolin tensed up a bit when he felt an arm slide around his waist and he looked to his left to see Korra lean against him. She tilted her head up and gave him a warm smile, and his throat tightened up some more. Mako's hand was on his right shoulder and gave it a firm comforting squeeze. Jinora and Ikki ran in front of him and hugged him at once, while Meelo landed on his shoulder and started nomming on his head, gaining a small laugh from Bolin.

"T-Thanks guys..." He whispered, and everyone only smiled at him. Yes, he lost a friend, and it was the biggest blow he had ever received, even worse than an earthdisk to the torso at a Probending match.

But he knew, after meeting the Avatar, after she changed their lives...he had many others who cared for him and loved him.

So who's the luckiest person in the world? This guy. Bolin.

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